I am fascinated by squirrels. There are times when walking through loring Park that squirrels will follow me. They will follow me longer than they do your average bear. So, this article at NYT caught my fancy.

Not shame, but shock. Shock that I find this interesting. Rather it’s only a preview of a coming series, but I’m hooked. The series will be a (week)daily post about an element. Not all the elements, because then why buy the book? Enough to get me hooked anyways. I am a trout.

I cannot stop laughing at Prince’s latest comments about the future of the internet. It’s a quick read, but the laughter will remain with you all day long. Or, as Lionel Richie sang, all night long.

I’m not too sure what to make of this. Very short hilarity. If you dare!

Remember yesterday’s distraction about tweeting a reduced Declaration of Independence? NewsRealBlog has a problem with it. Supposedly, it’s further proof of our cultural decline. Did I mention this is David Horowitz’s site? Here is an article describing the intersection between my academic discipline and Horowitz. Looking at the other entries, I am nonplussed. I thought they’d be funnier. Meh.

Ian McEwan. If you’ve not read him, you should. A quotation I came across this morning, which has occupied many of my thoughts for the day. I’ll set it out just to emphasize its perspicuity.

Cruelty is a failure of imagination.

Here’s another one by McEwan. It’s monstrous in its scope if he is correct, of which I am not so sure. Measuring it is worthy of a career, let alone a passage on some random blog, ergo… a distraction.

When the Enlightenment was being sort of undermined by the theorists in the academies, that was done with a general sense of security about the ultimate cultural victory of Enlightenment values, and now I think that victory is a lot less assured. (185)

HULK LIKE DUBLINERS. ANYTHING AFTER THAT MAKE HULK BRAIN HURT AND FEEL RAGE COMING ON.

It pains me to credit genius to someone, as there is then less genius left over for yours truly, but this is genius. The the #TinyDeclaration hashtag. People are tasked with in a single tweet summarizing the Declaration of Independence. My not so brilliant entry:

We’re out. PS. King George, you suck.

Slate will compile their favorites and post it later (I’m guessing on the 5th, unless they take that as a holiday like everyone else.)

Sestina. It’s a poetic form that seems really complex. Natch, I feel compelled to try my hand at it. It is really complex and it has managed to kill an entire Wednesday all by itself.

Not quite true. I was hungover until afternoon, so it wasn’t completely the sestina. And the game Spectromancer made by James Garfield and friends. I have a slight man-crush on Garfield. He has a big brain and uses it to make the world a more leisurely and fun place. He has a podcast that is highly recommended, Games with Garfield. If I ever finish the sestina, a distraction unfinished due to other distractions?, then I will post it. It’s based on a joke. A good joke, unlike the kinds Nate tries his hand at.

The Blair Witch Project was an okay movie, even though it scared the bajeezus out of me. Only The Shinning has had more affect on me. There’s an interesting movie critic gimmick at The Rumpus called 10/40/70. But the latest piece has branched out to also include House of Leaves, which is not a movie but instead a book about a movie. It’s easily the most terrifying book I’ve ever read and at the same time one of the best. I learned a lot. Let’s just say this piece of criticism is…interesting.

A Bing commercial turned me onto this clip of a Dog Shark versus a Giant Pacific Octopus. I actually feel badly for the shark.

And this flash from the past.

Entourage is back on. And I have never been more bored. Seven seasons and the guys are the same. No growth or personal development. There is no subtext, only jokes and gimmicks. The jokes and gimmicks are great. The show is entertaining, but oh so predictable.